. . .because Morris, Minnesota, is a pleasant, quiet, safe yet intellectually stimulating place on the west central Minnesota prairie, home of the U of M-Morris and a whole lot of interesting people. - morris mn

"You'll never get ahead if you don't take care of what you have." - Doris Waddell, RIP

A historic building on our U of M-Morris campus - morris mn

The multi-ethnic building was the original home of the music department at UMM. (B.W. photo)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Vikings found their digs just fine in 1961

Pro sports team owners know what restaurant owners know. A periodic
change in decor is necessary. A restaurant accomplishes this with some
cosmetic adjustments. Maybe it's subconscious, but the patrons expect
and desire this.

The situation with sports teams: Hell's bells, the "requirement" is to build new stadiums.

We were distracted long enough by the process of getting the new
Vikings stadium OK'd. Now we're distracted by the fiasco of learning the
funding mechanisms are going haywire. The electronic gambling has a
short circuit.

I haven't been to the Metrodome in years. I have found big-time sports less necessary among my entertainment options.

Also, sports has become more acceptable to consume on television.
There is probably less of a lure about "being there."

The ones who still
feel that lure, where the Vikings are concerned, are "20-somethings"
who wish to act rambunctious and blow off steam or whatever. A thorough
op-ed in the Star Tribune last fall documented this. Families with young
children are advised to be wary.

Big-time football has a problem with saturation. Troy Aikman pointed this out in public comments not long ago.

This is a common problem with all popular products. The public
demands more of it. To an extent they'll get it, although the team
owners are aware of the potential diminishing of value. Nevertheless
they'll dispense more because there's money to be made. A line might be
crossed. The public begins to yawn.

The league ensures more passing as opposed to the running game.
Until, passing begins to develop a cheap quality. Frequent scoring has
been no pathway to popularity for arena football. Does arena football
still exist? I thought arena football had great potential when I first
read about it. Good thing I'm not an investor. Singer Tim McGraw saw
potential. Stick to your singing, Tim.

The NFL has been the epitome of the golden goose. When I was
pre-school age, living in St. Paul I might add, neither the Vikings nor
Twins existed. (We rented the house of a snowbird couple one winter and
were supposed to take care of their cat, named "Pepper." The cat never
accepted us. We've been dog people since.)

Today we're told the Vikings "need" a new stadium. Back when I was
about kindergarten age, we marveled at the mere existence of the
Vikings.

The Vikings have had two stadium homes up until now. Of course, we
were told the Vikings "needed" the Metrodome. It was probably an easier
argument to make for the Vikings than the Twins. The winter weather can
be too punishing. But when it wasn't, the original stadium was a quite
acceptable and pleasant place.

We're talking about Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, where today
we have the Mall of America. I like to remind people that "the Met"
could be a truly wondrous place. And it surely was on September 17,
1961, when our purple Vikings debuted.

Pete Rozelle himself was here. The opener date seems late compared
to today. Weather blessed that historic first Vikings game. "Brilliant"
was one word that was offered.

The Vikings were a totally new team unlike the Twins who moved here
from Washington D.C. Expansion teams in that era were known to get
roughed up a lot, exhibit 'A' being the 1962 New York Mets.

So, how would the Vikings fare? Our purple crew took the field to
play the venerated Chicago Bears. You might not remember the name of our
first general manager. It was Bert Rose. Bert actually was not pleased
with the opener attendance: 32,236. Yes, it seems like quite the modest
turnout. But I'll wager that crowd was 100 per cent more civilized than a
typical fan turnout for a game today.

Bert had hoped for 35,000 fans. His hopes were fueled by how the Vikings performed.

The players weren't nearly as big or fast then, as they are now, so
injury issues weren't as pressing. But was football any less fun to
watch? The Vikings beat the Bears 37-13. Fran Tarkenton was 21 years
old. He wasn't the day's starting quarterback. Instead it was George
Shaw taking the snaps. Shaw ended up a trivia answer.

And Tarkenton? He impressed himself into Minnesota history. It was
both a heroic and tragic story as he would end up losing three Super
Bowls. There was a fourth: the Super Bowl we lost with Joe Kapp as
quarterback.

Four Super Bowl losses! It gave the state's boomer population a bit
of a defeatist outlook, finally salved to a degree when the baseball
Twins won the championship in 1987.

Tarkenton entered that first-ever game as Shaw's replacement late
in the first quarter. We led 3-0 at the time. Here's another trivia
answer: Mike Mercer kicked a field goal on the game's opening drive.
Hold on to your seats. Here comes the "Georgia Peach," Tarkenton, and he
passes ten yards for a touchdown to Bob Schnelker.

George Halas was still coaching the Bears. He said afterwards "I
helped Minnesota get into the league, but I never intended to be this
cooperative."

Mel Triplett was our fullback. Our middle linebacker had a terrific
name for that position: Rip Hawkins. The coach was Norm Van Brocklin
who failed to develop rapport with Tarkenton.

Bud Grant made his debut at the Met as head coach on September 10,
1967. The Monkees were all the rage. The Viet Nam war was at its worst.

Grant presided for the four Super Bowl losses. He was a father
figure to us boomers. He never liked the fact the Met was built for
baseball. He was quoted saying "the Twins made sure that we knew
everything was theirs."

I don't recall football fans being too down on the Met. The
occasional extreme cold had to be unpleasant. We prided ourselves on our
hardy qualities.

Metropolitan Stadium had a big league feel in every way. And to
think that in 1960, we had neither big league baseball nor football. In
1960 we still had the Minneapolis Millers. Before 1956 all we had was
Nicollet Park, home of the Millers.

Today we have developed delusions of grandeur about what our big
league sports venues should be like. We have allowed the business
tycoons of sports to lead us around, delude us, intimidate us and
downright scare us. These aren't bad people, they're just business
people. They always try to get the best deal they can.

And on the other end we need someone stronger than Mark Dayton. We
need someone representing the state's interests competently. We need
someone who realizes that wholesale changes aren't always necessary.
Sometimes we just need to tweak the decor as with a restaurant.

We all better just do a Hail Mary when that new Vikings stadium
rises up. It will be populated by those 20-somethings. Heaven help us
all.

Summer scenes around Morris, 2012

Click on the image to view a Flickr album of photos taken around the Morris area in the warm weather months of 2012. This group includes photos taken at the 2012 UMM graduation. The image above taken near Perkins Lake was chosen for display in the "Minnesota Explorers" Flickr gallery which is linked to Rick Kupchella's "Bring Me the News" MN website. Also chosen was a field of sunflowers photo I took. I'm delighted to have such platforms available. - B.W.

Past MACA Tiger football photos:

City of Morris perspective:

Pin it on your chest!

Click on the above image to access our "City Data" page.

Morris Theater - morris mn

Click on this image to read thoughts/reflections on our Morris Theater, which is hanging on through changing times (as a co-op). There is a link at the bottom of this post to read part 2 as well. These posts were written in spring of 2010 so there are some dated references. Any Morris native can spin some fond recollections of enjoying cinema fare there with friends.

Enjoy some fall scenery around Morris:

Enjoy some winter scenes around Morris:

Sam Smith statue - morris mn

Click on the image to read about the Sam Smith "running rifleman" statue at Summit Cemetery. This post explores the life of Samuel Smith, early Morris resident. He fought for the Union cause in several major engagements in the Civil War. The statue is patterned after the statue for the First Minnesota Regiment at Gettysburg National Park. This post is the newest of three that I have written about Sam Smith. I consider it the most comprehensive about the man. The statue can be an overlooked landmark of Morris MN. Everyone here ought to be familiar with it. Smith raised a large family north of Morris.

The first building here

In 1871 the first building erected within the village of Morris was the headquarters of the chief engineer of the railroad, C.H.F. Morris. With the railroad came the people.

The WCROC overlook

A nice view to the west is afforded from the WCROC overlook. It's a relatively new feature of the WCROC grounds. Specifically it's part of the WCROC Horticulture Garden. Click on the image to reach the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) website. Les Lindor was instrumental in making the overlook a reality. He served the West Central Experiment Station (the entity predating the WCROC) as ag engineer.

Stay informed about Stevens County MN:

Morris' music mecca:

Words to live by

This original and popular sign can be seen from the highway between Morris and Cyrus. It's associated with the late Dan Helberg. There used to be a sculpture next to it but perhaps it was removed due to legal restrictions (i.e. as a distraction). The sign has the thumbs-up for which we are grateful. Let's always heed these words.

Some spring/summer photo scenes:

The bike trail system

Call it both a walking and bicycling trail. It snakes along both the east and west sides of our Pomme de Terre River. You can do a complete lap which reportedly measures 4 1/2 miles. It's a fitness challenge for those willing to push their bodies a little! This photo was taken on the east side of the river, heading toward Lake Crissey (a wide spot on the river). Spring is a great time to get out there.

Our area's history:

Remembering "ag school"

From the time it accepted its first class in 1910, until it graduated its final class of seniors in 1963, over 7,000 students attended the West Central School of Agriculture. The precursor of the U of M-Morris, it opened its doors to its first class of 103 students in October of 1910.

Wildflowers out by the river

Click on this image to reach the "Minnesota wildflowers" website. This photo was taken on the west side of our Pomme de Terre River.

Before the current library

In 1921 the Stevens County Memorial Armory was built on the 100 block of East 6th Street, the site which is now occupied by the Morris Public Library.1969 saw the opening of the new Morris Public Library on the site of the old armory, leaving vacant the Carnegie building. The Historical Society found a new home in the Carnegie building in 1970.

A suggested restaurant

About Me

Brian Williams is a former writer in the Morris "dead tree" media who plies his pastime in the wonderful, liberating new media today. He refuses to consider himself an alternative journalist because the web is now the mainstream. Newspapers are in rapid retreat and it won't be long before they will exist in vestigial form only. Print media will not die because as a media observer put it: "We will always have print media for as long as there's a 'print' button on your computer." A once weekly newspaper (like in Morris) won't cut it. It's not consistent with our instant gratification culture. But the media are blossoming more than ever thanks to all the new tools. It's an uplifting, "green" new universe. Key word suggestions: morris mn - hancock mn - donnelly mn - cyrus mn - chokio mn - alberta mn - 56267 - stevens county - morris theater mn - morris area tigers - hancock owls.

Buy a car:

Pomme de Terre or Perkins?

Most maps identify it as "Perkins Lake" but it's known as Pomme de Terre to many local residents. The sign at the entry to the lake access uses the Pomme de Terre term, so that seems legitimate. This lake is part of a chain that represent wide spots on the Pomme de Terre River. Pomme de Terre Lake is useful for recreation and fishing, plus there are many fine residences along the shoreline. The chain is located several miles north of Morris.

A Destiny Driver. . .

"I Love Morris" is consistent with one of the "destiny drivers" as articulated by Stevens Forward! (named for Stevens County): "By 2010 we will enhance our interconnectedness by better utilizing the technology infrastructure to create a virtual community." (2010 is already here but this is always a "work in progress!")

We're the "Storm" in hockey

Click on this image to reach the official website of the Morris Benson Area "Storm" hockey program. Of course it's "MBA" for short. In Morris these teams play at the Lee Community Center, next to the fairgrounds.

B.W.'s country music memories, 1996-97:

Your Congressman:

Maintain perspective:

Main street of Morris mn

Atlantic Avenue is the main street of Morris and it's typically abuzz. Click on the above image to reach the Stevens County Economic Improvement Commission website.

Gager's Station

The first stopping place in Stevens County was Gager's Station, considered by some historians to be one of the more important stopping plces on the Wadsworth Trail. The station was nestled among the trees near Wintermute Lake.

VIDEO CLIPS

Loading...

The Eagles huddle

Blue is the color of the Morris amateur baseball team which goes by the nickname "Eagles." They're pictured about to break a pre-game huddle at their home: Chizek Field, named for the late Don Chizek who coached the Morris High Tigers for many years. The Tigers now have their own veteran coach in Lyle Rambow. Lyle had a successful playing career with the Eagles.

RIP jazz band leaders:

Best dog you could own:

"Dog is my co-pilot":

Superb early-morning TV:

Wind turbines - morris mn

There are two grand wind turbines such as this one on the eastern edge of Morris. It appears glistening white in this photo but they often are dark, silhouetted against the bright sky. A photographer never tires of them. They have become sustainable symbols of the community.

A trail of long ago here

The Wadsworth Trail was established by the U.S. Government in 1864 to transport supplies from St. Cloud to Fort Wadsworth, west of present day Sisseton, South Dakota.

No longer just a comedian:

She's upstaging Jim Klobuchar now:

Visit our McDonald's

It's a hotspot for dependable fast food and, just as important, socializing: our McDonald's Restaurant on the north end of Atlantic Avenue.

Our park in west Morris

Wells Park, located near Pacific Avenue and West 11th Street, was established in 1916 on land donated to the city by Henry Wells (a successful businessman and land investor) and Margaret Hulburd. Additional land was donated in 1935 by the Wells Investment Company, and in 1980 by Grace Zamerow.